It didn't take long for Luke to meet two people who looked very familiar to him. Slowly he walked towards the two, who were laughing in a small group of people. After he was sure that they were his two younger siblings, he jumped towards them and hugged them.
The two youngsters were too stunned to avoid him and were about to push him away. Only when they heard the words: "my siblings," sobbed by Luke, did they give in and also hugged him with tears in their eyes. "I'm sorry brother. We should have come here with you and not without you," whispered Luke's younger sister. "L-let's talk somewhere else where we can be alone," Luke's younger brother mumbled. "Yeah, you're right," Luke replied, sniffling as he continued to press his two siblings against his cheeks.
After the three of them separated from the crowd, Luke's two younger siblings jumped on him and started crying. "We were so scared. We should have never come here without you," the two siblings both burst into tears. "But why did you never let me know where you were going? Why did you abandon me? Why did you force your older brother to look for you, and where is our sister Livitha who escaped with you into the dungeon?" asked Luke.
"S-she died u- to protect both of us. When a group of mutants ran after us, she decided to slow down. Only after she was far behind us did she choose to run into a different passage," Luke's younger brother answered. He clawed at Luke's body with the one hand he still had.
"I see," Luke muttered, forcing a smile. "After all, she died nobly to protect her siblings. Why did you run into the tower," were the words Luke whispered while kissing his siblings full of tears.
"We would never have run here if we hadn't been hunted. One of our older siblings sent assassins after us, and we paid a mage to drop us in the tower," the sister sobbed. "I promise you I will kill each of them for putting us through hell. We will be the ones who hunt them and we will be the ones who will avenge our dead siblings. They think we are ants on whom they can tramble on," Luke whispered, hugging them both. "Our older traitorous siblings will pay for giving us a chance to survive," he continued to sob as his eyes swelled red and his veins popped.
Only now did Luke notice that his younger brother was missing his left hand. "I'll give you a replacement," Luke muttered while holding the burned stump in his hand. "Thank you," whispered the sister.
"You two better come with me. You will work under my care so I can protect you in the future," Luke whispered before heading off with them.
Luke walked towards Odebus, who was still sitting bored on his throne, and went down on his knees while his two siblings imitated him. "Why do you come to me," Odebus asked, bored. "I have found my siblings. I don't need the compass anymore," Luke replied coldly. "Then pass it on to someone else who could use it. A protector of the tower, like me, won't accept used things. After someone else drops their blood on the compass, it will tell them in which direction their blood relatives are," Odebus replied. "Then I guess I'll be on my way," Luke replied.
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But before he could go, a kitten jumped from Odebus' lap. "Noooo, not my kitten," cried Odebus holding out both his hands. The cat just looked at Odebus for a moment and decided to sprint towards Luke. "Can I take her," asked Lucy, Luke's younger sister."If she doesn't mind, sure always," Luke replied.
"Time for me to take care of Gab's request. I might be able to sneak my siblings into his battalion so they can get some of the best armor," Luke thought.
While Luke was making the weapons, you could see a fire igniting inside him. The weapons and armor he created from the absorbed bones were much better than the other pieces, even though they were made from the same material. At the same time, he created black light bone armor for the respective battalion leaders and his two younger siblings that did not hinder them. In the end, Luke was emaciated, but everyone was fully equipped. He was aware that he himself was Gab's most important asset, in order for him and Gab to conquer the dungeon.
"I shouldn't have challenged Gab's authority back then when he was trying to unite the first groups of people. I should have known that it was the wrong time to pick a fight. My idiotic actions almost ruined all of our goals to unite the people," Luke sighed, looking down at his bone hand.
Only after the last of the men had a set of armor and a sword did Gab's new army ascend to the second corridor. Once there, everyone received a reward. The majority received small rewards, as they generally contributed little. But others, such as Princess Enota, or the leader Gab, or Luke the provisional bone smith, received large rewards, since they contributed the most to the conquest of the first corridor, directly as well as indirectly.
"Hmm, what should I pick," Gab muttered when he saw his choices. Awakening his own mana core was at his disposal with a talent book for the first few levels or an improved integration of the external mana core (talent of blood) or leaving the tower right now were his choices.
"I would prefer to leave the tower because I have already received the compass from Luke. The problem is that such action is without dignity. It would be disrespectful to all those who fought with me for survival. I'm sorry, my siblings, you'll have to wait," Gab muttered, squeezing the compass tightly.
"Becoming a mage or enhancing my external talent. I would like to be a mage. But there is a big problem. What good is potential strength to me if I have to train it? Do I even have the chance to train? I don't know if I'll survive on the next floor now," Gab muttered, selecting the external mana core's enhancement.
To Gab's credit, Luke shared the same view and decided to improve his talent. Only Evie thought differently and decided to awaken her mana core.
Once in the second hallway, there was no time to recover, because the first thing Gab and his army heard was the loud roars of the Monsters. Gab, who was staring at one of the mutants, saw a swarm flying in their direction in the distance. With a loud command that tore every soldier from their despair, he ordered all sharpshooters and mages to get ready to fire.